His Conscience is His Guide

Here's a story that warmed my heart. Each morning, children around our school building color in rainbow charts for me. This means that their teacher gives them a 1-10 rating on how well they met their counseling goals the day before, and they color in the corresponding number of squares on a vertical bar graph. For example, if they did a super duper job of finishing their work, their rating would be high, such as a 9. Then they'd color in 9 squares on their chart. Well, one little boy was referred to me because he was crying several times a day when he got frustrated, and he was a second grader. On Thursday, he came to my room and said his score from the previous day should be an 8. Then he mentioned that his teacher had given him a 10, but he thought it should be 8. Wanting him to give himself credit, I said, "Well if your teacher said it was a 10, let's color 10." He solemnly looked at me and said, "But she didn't see me cry. I went in the cubbies once and cried, and she didn't know it. That's why it shouldn't be a 10." Oh, how proud I was of this little boy, for he is developing a good strong conscience!